52,171 research outputs found
MIT Space Engineering Research Center
The Space Engineering Research Center (SERC) at MIT, started in Jul. 1988, has completed two years of research. The Center is approaching the operational phase of its first testbed, is midway through the construction of a second testbed, and is in the design phase of a third. We presently have seven participating faculty, four participating staff members, ten graduate students, and numerous undergraduates. This report reviews the testbed programs, individual graduate research, other SERC activities not funded by the Center, interaction with non-MIT organizations, and SERC milestones. Published papers made possible by SERC funding are included at the end of the report
MIT's interferometer CST testbed
The MIT Space Engineering Research Center (SERC) has developed a controlled structures technology (CST) testbed based on one design for a space-based optical interferometer. The role of the testbed is to provide a versatile platform for experimental investigation and discovery of CST approaches. In particular, it will serve as the focus for experimental verification of CSI methodologies and control strategies at SERC. The testbed program has an emphasis on experimental CST--incorporating a broad suite of actuators and sensors, active struts, system identification, passive damping, active mirror mounts, and precision component characterization. The SERC testbed represents a one-tenth scaled version of an optical interferometer concept based on an inherently rigid tetrahedral configuration with collecting apertures on one face. The testbed consists of six 3.5 meter long truss legs joined at four vertices and is suspended with attachment points at three vertices. Each aluminum leg has a 0.2 m by 0.2 m by 0.25 m triangular cross-section. The structure has a first flexible mode at 31 Hz and has over 50 global modes below 200 Hz. The stiff tetrahedral design differs from similar testbeds (such as the JPL Phase B) in that the structural topology is closed. The tetrahedral design minimizes structural deflections at the vertices (site of optical components for maximum baseline) resulting in reduced stroke requirements for isolation and pointing of optics. Typical total light path length stability goals are on the order of lambda/20, with a wavelength of light, lambda, of roughly 500 nanometers. It is expected that active structural control will be necessary to achieve this goal in the presence of disturbances
Model-based Aeroservoelastic Design and Load Alleviation of Large Wind Turbine Blades
This paper presents an aeroservoelastic modeling approach for dynamic load alleviation
in large wind turbines with trailing-edge aerodynamic surfaces. The tower, potentially on a
moving base, and the rotating blades are modeled using geometrically non-linear composite
beams, which are linearized around reference conditions with arbitrarily-large structural
displacements. Time-domain aerodynamics are given by a linearized 3-D unsteady vortexlattice
method and the resulting dynamic aeroelastic model is written in a state-space
formulation suitable for model reductions and control synthesis. A linear model of a single
blade is used to design a Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian regulator on its root-bending moments,
which is finally shown to provide load reductions of about 20% in closed-loop on the full
wind turbine non-linear aeroelastic model
NASA-VCOSS dynamic test facility
The Large Space Structure Ground Test Facility under development at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama is described. The Ground Test Facility was established initially to test experimentally the control system to be used on the Solar Array flight Experiment. The structural dynamics of the selected test article were investigated, including the fidelity of the associated mathematical model. The facility must permit the investigation of structural dynamics phenomena and be able to evaluate candidate attitude control and vibration suppression techniques
Space science/space station attached payload pointing accommodation study: Technology assessment white paper
Technology assessment is performed for pointing systems that accommodate payloads of large mass and large dimensions. Related technology areas are also examined. These related areas include active thermal lines or power cables across gimbals, new materials for increased passive damping, tethered pointing, and inertially reacting pointing systems. Conclusions, issues and concerns, and recommendations regarding the status and development of large pointing systems for space applications are made based on the performed assessments
Magnetic Actuators and Suspension for Space Vibration Control
The research on microgravity vibration isolation performed at the University of Virginia is summarized. This research on microgravity vibration isolation was focused in three areas: (1) the development of new actuators for use in microgravity isolation; (2) the design of controllers for multiple-degree-of-freedom active isolation; and (3) the construction of a single-degree-of-freedom test rig with umbilicals. Described are the design and testing of a large stroke linear actuator; the conceptual design and analysis of a redundant coarse-fine six-degree-of-freedom actuator; an investigation of the control issues of active microgravity isolation; a methodology for the design of multiple-degree-of-freedom isolation control systems using modern control theory; and the design and testing of a single-degree-of-freedom test rig with umbilicals
Small-Signal Modelling and Analysis of Doubly-Fed Induction Generators in Wind Power Applications
The worldwide demand for more diverse and greener energy supply has had a significant
impact on the development of wind energy in the last decades. From 2 GW in 1990,
the global installed capacity has now reached about 100 GW and is estimated to grow to
1000 GW by 2025. As wind power penetration increases, it is important to investigate its
effect on the power system. Among the various technologies available for wind energy
conversion, the doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) is one of the preferred solutions
because it offers the advantages of reduced mechanical stress and optimised power capture
thanks to variable speed operation. This work presents the small-signal modelling and
analysis of the DFIG for power system stability studies.
This thesis starts by reviewing the mathematical models of wind turbines with DFIG
convenient for power system studies. Different approaches proposed in the literature for
the modelling of the turbine, drive-train, generator, rotor converter and external power
system are discussed. It is shown that the flexibility of the drive train should be represented
by a two-mass model in the presence of a gearbox.
In the analysis part, the steady-state behaviour of the DFIG is examined. Comparison
is made with the conventional synchronous generators (SG) and squirrel-cage induction
generators to highlight the differences between the machines. The initialisation of the
DFIG dynamic variables and other operating quantities is then discussed. Various methods
are briefly reviewed and a step-by-step procedure is suggested to avoid the iterative
computations in initial condition mentioned in the literature.
The dynamical behaviour of the DFIG is studied with eigenvalue analysis. Modal
analysis is performed for both open-loop and closed-loop situations. The effect of parameters
and operating point variations on small signal stability is observed. For the
open-loop DFIG, conditions on machine parameters are obtained to ensure stability of
the system. For the closed-loop DFIG, it is shown that the generator electrical transients
may be neglected once the converter controls are properly tuned. A tuning procedure is
proposed and conditions on proportional gains are obtained for stable electrical dynamics. Finally, small-signal analysis of a multi-machine system with both SG and DFIG is
performed. It is shown that there is no common mode to the two types of generators.
The result confirms that the DFIG does not introduce negative damping to the system,
however it is also shown that the overall effect of the DFIG on the power system stability
depends on several structural factors and a general statement as to whether it improves or
detriorates the oscillatory stability of a system can not be made
Analysis, preliminary design and simulation systems for control-structure interaction problems
Software aspects of control-structure interaction (CSI) analysis are discussed. The following subject areas are covered: (1) implementation of a partitioned algorithm for simulation of large CSI problems; (2) second-order discrete Kalman filtering equations for CSI simulations; and (3) parallel computations and control of adaptive structures
Design of the Annular Suspension and Pointing System (ASPS) (including design addendum)
The Annular Suspension and Pointing System is an experiment pointing mount designed for extremely precise 3 axis orientation of shuttle experiments. It utilizes actively controlled magnetic bearing to provide noncontacting vernier pointing and translational isolation of the experiment. The design of the system is presented and analyzed
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